‘Bistar pack karo’ – Fans react as England overcome Pakistan by 93 runs at Eden Gardens in ODI World Cup 2023

England ended their World Cup campaign on a winning note. The champions of the 2019 ODI World Cup defeated Pakistan in their last match by 93 runs and knocked them out of the tournament. In the process, England qualified for the Champions Trophy 2025. A collective team effort helped England to overcome the challenge of an unpredictable side like Pakistan at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

England’s captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first. If Pakistan had a slim of hope to qualify for the semifinal of the tournament, it depended on the toss. Pakistan had to win by a margin of 287 or more runs or they had to chase down the given target withing 2.4 overs to qualify for the semifinal of the tournament. But the dreams of millions of Pakistan fans got shattered with a single call of toss.

What followed it was the domination from England. Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes scored fifty each and helped their team to get to a fantastic total. Bairstow scored 59 runs in 61 balls and gave a good start to England. It was continued well by the duo of Root and Stokes, who scored 60(72) and 84(76) respectively. Towards the end, Jos Buttler and Harry Brook finished well for England.

England defend the target and qualify for Champions Trophy 2025

As a result, England posted a huge total of 337 runs on the board on a tricky wicket in Kolkata. Defending it, England got the two big wickets of both the Pakistani openers early in the innings. David Willey was on fire with the new ball. In the middle overs, the spin duo of Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali did the job for England. Only Agha Salman gave some fight from the Pakistani batting lineup.

The tailenders like Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Wasim Jr actually batted better than the top order batters. They tried their best to reduce the eventual margin of win. But it was way too high and very much out of reach for Pakistan. They were dismissed in 43.3 overs, as England ended their campaign with back-to-back wins. In the process, England qualified for the Champions Trophy 2025.

Here’s how the fans reacted to the news –